Cross-component message encryption

ABSTRACT

Often, for reasons of wireless bandwidth conservation, incomplete messages are provided to wireless messaging devices. Employing cryptography, for secrecy or authentication purposes, when including a received message that has been incompletely received can lead to lack of context on the receiver&#39;s end. By automatically obtaining the entirety of the message to be included, an outgoing message that includes the received message can be processed in a manner that securely and accurately represents the intended outgoing message. Alternatively, a server can assemble a composite message from a new message and an original message and, in cooperation with a wireless messaging device, encrypt and sign the composite message. Conveniently, security considerations are maintained even in view of bandwidth optimization measures.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/413,941, filed Nov. 15, 2010, the contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present application relates generally to mobile wireless electronicmessaging and, more specifically, to encrypting a message with theinvolvement of more than one component.

BACKGROUND

In one manner of processing (e.g., encrypting) an outgoing e-mailmessage, a communication application, employed by a given user,transforms the outgoing e-mail message using an algorithm with a publickey half of a public-private key pair. The encrypted outgoing e-mailmessage may then be transmitted. Upon receiving the encrypted e-mailmessage, the recipient device may be configured to decrypt the receivede-mail using a private key half of the public-private key pair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the drawings, which show by way ofexample, embodiments of the present application, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an overview of an example system including a mobilecommunication device and a wireless mail server;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic representation of components of themobile communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates example steps in a first method of processing anelectronic message at the mobile communication device of FIG. 1, wherethe processing comprises signing;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example dialog to warn a user that an e-mailmessage will be incompletely included in a response message;

FIG. 5 illustrates example steps in the method of FIG. 3, where theprocessing comprises encrypting;

FIG. 6 illustrates example steps in a second method of processing anelectronic message at the mobile communication device of FIG. 1, wherethe processing comprises signing;

FIG. 7 illustrates example steps in a method of processing an electronicmessage at the wireless mail server of FIG. 1, in conjunction with themethod of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 illustrates example steps in a third method of processing anelectronic message at the mobile communication device of FIG. 1, wherethe processing comprises signing;

FIG. 9 illustrates example steps in a method of processing an electronicmessage at the wireless mail server of FIG. 1, in conjunction with themethod of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 illustrates example steps of a cross-component messageencryption approach;

FIG. 11 illustrates example steps in a method of participating, at thewireless mail server of FIG. 1, in the cross-component messageencryption approach of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 illustrates example steps of cross-component message encryptionapproach distinct from the cross-component message encryption approachof FIGS. 10 and 11; and

FIG. 13 illustrates example steps in a method of participating, at thewireless mail server of FIG. 1, in the cross-component messageencryption approach of FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

When a mobile wireless device is used to receive and transmit e-mail,the mobile wireless device is often associated with a mobile mailserver. The mobile mail server manages the transmission of messages tothe mobile wireless device to optimize use of the limited resources of awireless communication channel in the path between the mobile wirelessdevice and the mobile mail server. The mobile mail server may alsomanage messages transmitted by the mobile wireless device to optimize ina similar fashion.

For a first example of optimization of transmission of messages to themobile wireless device, by only transmitting an initial portion of afirst e-mail message to the mobile wireless device, the mobile mailserver may conserve wireless resources that would otherwise be consumedby transmitting the entire first e-mail message.

It is common, in e-mail communication applications, to include the textof a received e-mail message when composing an e-mail message inresponse or when forwarding the e-mail message to a further recipient.However, in a mobile communication system, when sending a new e-mailmessage related to an original e-mail message, the mobile wirelessdevice may only be able to include the initial portion of the originale-mail message in the new e-mail message, since the mobile wirelessdevice may only have the initial portion of the original e-mail messageavailable. Upon receiving the new e-mail message, the cleverly designedmobile mail server may append the remaining (i.e., non-initial) portionof the original e-mail message before forwarding the entire new e-mailmessage toward its destination. Conveniently, this scheme conserveswireless communication channel resources.

However, when a user of the mobile wireless device wishes to sign thenew e-mail message, obtaining the efficiency of previously describedschemes becomes challenging.

For example, consider receipt, at the mobile wireless device, of aninitial portion of a first e-mail message. The user of the mobilewireless device reviews the initial portion of the first e-mail messageand composes a response to the first e-mail message. The response may beconsidered a second e-mail message. The second e-mail message may beconsidered to have at least two portions: an “old” portion, comprisingthe initial portion of the first e-mail message; and a “new” portion,comprising the content composed by the user of the mobile wirelessdevice. The user of the mobile wireless device may decide to sign thesecond e-mail message. Accordingly, when obtaining a signature toassociate with the second e-mail message, the mobile wireless device mayonly obtain a hash of the second e-mail message (i.e., the old portionappended to the new portion). That is, the mobile wireless deviceencrypts a hash of the second e-mail message with the private key storedat the mobile wireless device. The mobile mail server would normallyappend the remaining (i.e., non-initial) portion of the first e-mailmessage to the received second e-mail message to form a completeresponse, before forwarding the complete response to the origin of thefirst e-mail message. However, since the signature received inassociation with the second e-mail message only relates to the oldportion appended to the new portion, and not to the complete response,the mobile mail server must simply forward the second e-mail message andassociated signature toward the origin of the first e-mail message.

At the origin of the first e-mail message, the recipient of the seconde-mail message does not receive all of the typically appended firste-mail message content and, accordingly, may struggle with the placingof the second e-mail message properly in context.

To provide awareness to the sender of the second e-mail message (i.e.,the user of the mobile wireless device) that the second e-mail messagewill include only a truncated version of the first e-mail message, themobile wireless device may display a warning dialog. The warning dialogmay be displayed responsive to the user of the mobile wireless deviceindicating, using a user interface in a message composition mode, thatthe second e-mail message is to be sent. The warning dialog may indicate“Warning! Your message will be truncated.” Furthermore, the warningdialog may be interactive and may require user selection of a choicebefore the warning dialog may be dismissed from the display. That is,the warning dialog may present choices labeled “OK” and “Cancel”.Additionally, the warning dialog may include a checkbox labeled “Don'tshow this dialog again”. The user may select the “OK” choice to indicateacceptance of the truncation. Alternatively, the user may select the“Cancel” choice to indicate a wish to return to composing the message.By selecting the checkbox labeled “Don't show this dialog again” andthen selecting the “OK” choice, the user may effectively set a policyfor the mobile wireless device, where the policy indicates that allfuture signed, and/or encrypted, messages are to include only atruncated version of the original received message.

Upon receiving an indication that the user has selected the “OK” choice,the mobile wireless device may proceed to transmit the second e-mailmessage to the mobile mail server for forwarding to the sender of thefirst e-mail message.

Upon receiving an indication that the user has selected the “Cancel”choice, the mobile wireless device may return the user interface to themessage composition mode. Responsive to being returned to the messagecomposition mode, the user may manipulate the user interface to copy, toa clipboard, the message that has been typed (i.e., the new portion).The user may then close the message composition user interface, returnto a message list and re-open the first message. Once the initialportion of the first message is open, the user may manipulate a messageviewing user interface to request, from the mobile mail server, theentire first message. The user may then manipulate the message viewinguser interface to indicate a wish to compose a response to the firstmessage. Once the message composition user interface has been opened,pre-loaded with the entirety of the first e-mail message, the user maypaste the previously composed new portion from the clipboard to themessage composition area in the message composition user interface,thereby creating a third e-mail message. The third e-mail message may bedistinguished from the second e-mail message in that the third e-mailmessage includes the entirety of the first e-mail message and the seconde-mail message only includes a truncated version of the first e-mailmessage. The user may then create a signature for the third e-mailmessage and indicate that the third e-mail message and the signature areto be sent.

One can see that including an entire original message in a signedresponse can require manually carrying out some potentially tedious andcomplex steps.

By arranging assembly, at a server, of a composite message from a newmessage and an original message and arranging encryption and signing ofthe composite message in cooperation with a wireless messaging device,operational complexity on the part of the user can be obviated.

In an aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method ofprocessing an electronic message at a mobile wireless communicationdevice. The method includes detecting receipt of an instruction toencrypt and transmit a composite message, where the composite messageincludes a new message and an original message, obtaining cryptographicinformation for use in carrying out the encryption request, transmittingthe new message to a server associated with the mobile wirelesscommunication device and transmitting an encryption request to theserver, the encryption request including the cryptographic informationand specifying the original message. In other aspects of the presentapplication, a mobile wireless communication device is provided forcarrying out this method and a computer readable medium is provided foradapting a processor to carry out this method.

In another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a methodof processing an electronic message. The method includes detectingreceipt of a message processing request for encryption and transmissionof a composite message, where the composite message includes a newmessage and an original message, the message processing requestincluding the new message, an indication of the original message andcryptographic information for use in the encryption, creating thecomposite message from the new message and the original message,employing a first portion of the cryptographic information to encryptthe composite message to form an encrypted composite message andtransmitting the encrypted composite message. In other aspects of thepresent application, a mail server is provided for carrying out thismethod and a computer readable medium is provided for adapting aprocessor to carry out this method.

Other aspects and features of the present application will becomeapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of thefollowing description of specific embodiments of the application inconjunction with the accompanying figures.

Referring to FIG. 1, an overview of an example system for use with theembodiments described below is shown. One skilled in the art willappreciate that there may be many different topologies, but the systemshown in FIG. 1 helps demonstrate the operation of the systems andmethods described in the present application. For example, there may bemany mobile communication devices connected to the system that are notshown in the overview of FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 shows a mobile wireless device in the form of a mobilecommunication device 100. It will be appreciated by those skilled in theart that the mobile communication device 100 may comprise any computingor communication device that is capable of connecting to a network bywireless means, including, but not limited, to personal computers(including tablet and laptop computers), personal digital assistants,smart phones, and the like. It will further be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that these devices may be referred to herein ascomputing devices or communication devices, and may have principalfunctions directed to data or voice communication over a network, datastorage or data processing, or the operation of personal or productivityapplications; those skilled in the art will appreciate that terminologysuch as “mobile device”, “communication device”, “computing device”, or“user device” may be used interchangeably.

The mobile communication device 100 may, for example, be connected to anInternet Service Provider on which a user of the system of FIG. 1,likely the user associated with the mobile communication device 100illustrated in FIG. 1, has an account.

The mobile communication device 100 may be capable of sending andreceiving messages and other data via wireless transmission andreception, as is typically done using electromagnetic waves in the radiofrequency (RF) spectrum. The exchange of messages and other data mayoccur, for instance, between the mobile communication device 100 and abase station in a wireless carrier network 106. The mobile communicationdevice 100 may receive data by other means, for example through a directconnection to a port provided on the mobile communication device 100. Anexample of such a direct connection is a Universal Serial Bus (USB)link.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the wireless carrier network 106 connects to awide area network 114, represented as the Internet, via a wirelessinfrastructure 110. The wireless infrastructure 110 incorporates awireless gateway 112 for connecting to the Internet 114.

A connection between the mobile communication device 100 and theInternet 114 allows the mobile communication device 100 to access awireless mail server 118. The wireless mail server 118 may include aprocessor 117 and a memory 119. The wireless mail server 118 may begrouped together with other servers (not shown) in an enterprise 120.Also connected to the Internet 114 may be a representative messageorigin 130. The mobile communication device 100 may store a privatecryptographic key 124 that is associated with a corresponding publiccryptographic key.

FIG. 2 illustrates the mobile communication device 100. The mobilecommunication device 100 includes a housing, an input device (e.g., akeyboard 224 having a plurality of keys) and an output device (e.g., adisplay 226), which may be a full graphic, or full color, Liquid CrystalDisplay (LCD). In some embodiments, the display 226 may comprise atouchscreen display. In such embodiments, the keyboard 224 may comprisea virtual keyboard. Other types of output devices may alternatively beutilized. A processing device (a processor 228) is shown schematicallyin FIG. 2 as coupled between the keyboard 224 and the display 226. Theprocessor 228 controls the operation of the display 226, as well as theoverall operation of the mobile communication device 100, in part,responsive to actuation of the keys on the keyboard 224 by a user.Notably, the keyboard 224 may comprise physical buttons (keys) or, wherethe display 226 is a touchscreen device, the keyboard 224 may beimplemented, at least in part, as “soft keys”. Actuation of a so-calledsoft key involves either touching the display 226 where the soft key isdisplayed or actuating a physical button in proximity to an indication,on the display 226, of a temporary action associated with the physicalbutton.

The housing may be elongated vertically, or may take on other sizes andshapes (including clamshell housing structures). Where the keyboard 224includes keys that are associated with at least one alphabetic characterand at least one numeric character, the keyboard 224 may include a modeselection key, or other hardware or software, for switching betweenalphabetic entry and numeric entry.

In addition to the processor 228, other parts of the mobilecommunication device 100 are shown schematically in FIG. 2. These mayinclude a communications subsystem 202, a short-range communicationssubsystem 204, the keyboard 224 and the display 226. The mobilecommunication device 100 may further include other input/output devices,such as a set of auxiliary I/O devices 206, a serial port 208, a speaker211 and a microphone 212. The mobile communication device 100 mayfurther include memory devices including a flash memory 216 and a RandomAccess Memory (RAM) 218 and various other device subsystems 220. Themobile communication device 100 may comprise a two-way radio frequency(RF) communication device having voice and data communicationcapabilities. In addition, the mobile communication device 100 may havethe capability to communicate with other computer systems via theInternet.

Operating system software executed by the processor 228 may be stored ina computer readable medium, such as the flash memory 216, but may bestored in other types of memory devices, such as a read only memory(ROM) or similar storage element. In addition, system software, specificdevice applications, or parts thereof, may be temporarily loaded into avolatile store, such as the RAM 218. Communication signals received bythe mobile device may also be stored to the RAM 218.

The processor 228, in addition to its operating system functions,enables execution of software applications on the mobile communicationdevice 100. A predetermined set of software applications that controlbasic device operations, such as a voice communications module 230A anda data communications module 230B, may be installed on the mobilecommunication device 100 during manufacture. A message processing module230C may also be installed on the mobile communication device 100 duringmanufacture, to implement aspects of the present disclosure. As well,additional software modules, illustrated as an other software module230N, which may be, for instance, a PIM application, may be installedduring manufacture. The PIM application may be capable of organizing andmanaging data items, such as e-mail messages, calendar events, voicemail messages, appointments and task items. The PIM application may alsobe capable of sending and receiving data items via a wireless carriernetwork 106 represented by a radio tower. The data items managed by thePIM application may be seamlessly integrated, synchronized and updatedvia the wireless carrier network 106 with the device user'scorresponding data items stored or associated with a host computersystem.

Communication functions, including data and voice communications, areperformed through the communication subsystem 202 and, possibly, throughthe short-range communications subsystem 204. The communicationsubsystem 202 includes a receiver 250, a transmitter 252 and one or moreantennas, illustrated as a receive antenna 254 and a transmit antenna256. In addition, the communication subsystem 202 also includes aprocessing module, such as a digital signal processor (DSP) 258, andlocal oscillators (LOs) 260. The specific design and implementation ofthe communication subsystem 202 is dependent upon the communicationnetwork in which the mobile communication device 100 is intended tooperate. For example, the communication subsystem 202 of the mobilecommunication device 100 may be designed to operate with the Mobitex™,DataTAC™ or General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) mobile datacommunication networks and also designed to operate with any of avariety of voice communication networks, such as Advanced Mobile PhoneService (AMPS), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA), Personal Communications Service (PCS), GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSMEvolution (EDGE), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS),Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), High Speed PacketAccess (HSPA), etc. Other types of data and voice networks, bothseparate and integrated, may also be utilized with the mobilecommunication device 100.

Network access requirements vary depending upon the type ofcommunication system. Typically, an identifier is associated with eachmobile device that uniquely identifies the mobile device or subscriberto which the mobile device has been assigned. The identifier is uniquewithin a specific network or network technology. For example, inMobitex™ networks, mobile devices are registered on the network using aMobitex Access Number (MAN) associated with each device in DataTAC™networks, mobile devices are registered on the network using a LogicalLink Identifier (LLI) associated with each device. In GPRS networks,however, network access is associated with a subscriber or user of adevice. A GPRS device therefore uses a subscriber identity module,commonly referred to as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, inorder to operate on a GPRS network. Despite identifying a subscriber bySIM, mobile devices within GSM/GPRS networks are uniquely identifiedusing an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number.

When required network registration or activation procedures have beencompleted, the mobile communication device 100 may send and receivecommunication signals over the wireless carrier network 106. Signalsreceived from the wireless carrier network 106 by the receive antenna254 are routed to the receiver 250, which provides for signalamplification, frequency down conversion, filtering, channel selection,etc., and may also provide analog to digital conversion.Analog-to-digital conversion of the received signal allows the DSP 258to perform more complex communication functions, such as demodulationand decoding. In a similar manner, signals to be transmitted to thewireless carrier network 106 are processed (e.g., modulated and encoded)by the DSP 258 and are then provided to the transmitter 252 for digitalto analog conversion, frequency up conversion, filtering, amplificationand transmission to the wireless carrier network 106 (or networks) viathe transmit antenna 256.

In addition to processing communication signals, the DSP 258 providesfor control of the receiver 250 and the transmitter 252. For example,gains applied to communication signals in the receiver 250 and thetransmitter 252 may be adaptively controlled through automatic gaincontrol algorithms implemented in the DSP 258.

In a data communication mode, a received signal, such as a text messageor web page download, is processed by the communication subsystem 202and is input to the processor 228. The received signal is then furtherprocessed by the processor 228 for output to the display 226, oralternatively to some auxiliary I/O devices 206. A device user may alsocompose data items, such as e-mail messages, using the keyboard 224and/or some other auxiliary I/O device 206, such as a touchpad, a rockerswitch, a thumb-wheel, a trackball, a touchscreen, or some other type ofinput device. The composed data items may then be transmitted over thewireless carrier network 106 via the communication subsystem 202.

In a voice communication mode, overall operation of the device issubstantially similar to the data communication mode, except thatreceived signals are output to the speaker 211, and signals fortransmission are generated by a microphone 212. Alternative voice oraudio I/O subsystems, such as a voice message recording subsystem, mayalso be implemented on the mobile communication device 100. In addition,the display 226 may also be utilized in voice communication mode, forexample, to display the identity of a calling party, the duration of avoice call, or other voice call related information.

The short-range communications subsystem 204 enables communicationbetween the mobile communication device 100 and other proximate systemsor devices, which need not necessarily be similar devices. For example,the short-range communications subsystem may include an infrared deviceand associated circuits and components, or a Bluetooth™ communicationmodule to provide for communication with similarly-enabled systems anddevices.

In overview, the mobile communication device 100 receives an initialportion of a first e-mail message from the wireless mail server 118,where the first e-mail message has originated at the representativemessage origin 130. The user of the mobile communication device 100manipulates the mobile communication device 100 to invoke a messagecomposition user interface preloaded with the received initial portionof the first e-mail message and composes a new portion. Where the userhas specified that the message is to be processed (e.g., signed and/orencrypted), responsive to the user indicating that the message is to besent, aspects of the present disclosure allow for the processing of anew message that includes the new portion and the entirety of the firste-mail message.

For example, the message composition user interface may allow the userto specify that the message is to be signed. Typically, when the userhas indicated that the message is to be sent, the message compositionuser interface prompts the user for a password associated with a keystore in which the private cryptographic key 124 is stored. Uponverifying a received password, the processor 228 executes a messagesigning algorithm to generate a signature by, first, generating a hashof the message and, second, encrypting the hash with the privatecryptographic key 124.

In a first cross-component message processing approach, some automationis provided to the complex operations. Responsive to the user indicatingthat a reply message with truncated original message is to be sent, itis proposed herein to prompt the user with a dialog that includes a useroption to “Download Original”. Responsive to receiving an indicationthat the “Download Original” user option has been selected, theprocessor 228 may automatically download the remainder of the originalmessage and append the remainder of the original message to the replymessage. The processor 228 may then sign, encrypt or sign and encryptthe reply message with the entire original message before sending,thereby providing full, end-to-end security.

Steps of a method that is an example of a first cross-component messagesigning approach are presented in FIG. 3. Initially, the processor 228,or, more accurately, a signature handling application executed on theprocessor 228, detects receipt (step 302) of an instruction to transmita response message and an associated signature. Such an instruction maybe received from the message composition user interface application alsoexecuted on the processor 228.

From the user's perspective, the user has specified that the responsemessage is to be signed and the user has composed the new portion of theresponse message (in any order). The user may have configured the mobilecommunication device 100, at some earlier time, to, by default, transmitan associated signature with each outgoing messages. The receipt(detected in step 302), by the signature handling application, of theinstruction to transmit a response message and an associated signaturemay be triggered by the user opening a menu and selecting a “send” menuitem.

Responsive to the detection in step 302, the signature handlingapplication may present (step 304) a dialog to warn the user that thefirst e-mail message will be incompletely included in the responsemessage and giving the user choice regarding how or whether to proceed.An example of a suitable dialog is illustrated as a dialog 400 in FIG.4. The dialog 400 is illustrated as being displayed on the display 226of the mobile communication device 100.

As has been discussed above, the dialog 400 may include choices labeled“OK” and “Cancel”. Furthermore, according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure, the dialog 400 may include another choice, labeled “DownloadOriginal”.

It is expected that the user of the mobile communication device 100 willinteract with the dialog 400 to select one of the choices. Accordingly,the signature handling application may receive (step 306) an indicationof the user selection and determine (step 308) which of the choices theuser has selected. Upon determining (step 308) that the user hasselected the “Cancel” choice, the signature handling application mayreturn (step 310) control to the message composition user interface.

Upon determining (step 308) that the user has selected the “OK” choice,the signature handling application may generate (step 312) a signaturefor the response message. To distinguish this signature from analternative signature to be discussed hereinafter, this signature may betermed a “response” signature. The response signature is a result ofencrypting a hash of the response message, where the response messageincludes the new portion, recently composed by the user of the mobilecommunication device 100, and the initial portion of the first e-mailmessage (i.e., not the entire first e-mail message). The signaturehandling application may then arrange the transmission (step 314) of theresponse message and the response signature.

Upon determining (step 308) that the user has selected the “DownloadOriginal” choice, the signature handling application may obtain (step316) the remainder of the first e-mail message from the wireless mailserver 118 and form (step 318) a “new” message. The new message may beformed from the new portion, recently composed by the user of the mobilecommunication device 100, and the entirety of the first e-mail message,obtained in step 316. The signature handling application may thengenerate (step 320) a signature for the new message. To distinguish thissignature from the “response” signature, this signature may be termed a“new” signature. The new signature is a result of encrypting a hash ofthe new message. The signature handling application may then arrange thetransmission (step 322) of the new message and the new signature.

Additionally, the warning dialog 400 may include a checkbox labeled“Always download original”. By selecting the checkbox labeled “Alwaysdownload original” and then selecting the “Download Original” choice,the user may effectively set a policy for the mobile wireless device,where the policy indicates that all future signed, and/or encrypted,messages are to include the entirety of the original received message.

As a further alternative, the dialog 400 may include a checkbox labeled“Always send truncated” (not shown). By selecting the checkbox labeled“Always send truncated” (not shown) and then selecting the “OK” choice,the user may effectively set a policy for the mobile wireless device,where the policy indicates that all future signed, and/or encrypted,messages are to include only a truncated version of the originalreceived message.

Apart from the dialog 400, the user may be provided with an opportunityto establish a policy through editing a policy through use of aconfiguration options user interface. Such a configuration options userinterface may allow the user to specify a size threshold for theoriginal message so that an original message exceeding the sizethreshold is not automatically downloaded in its entirety for inclusionin the new message.

Notably, the automatic downloading of the original message may beaccomplished on a background thread so that the user does not have towait for the original message to be downloaded before carrying outfurther activities on the mobile communication device 100. Responsive toindicating that the message is to be sent, the user may be prompted fora signing password, but the cryptographic key, for encrypting a hash ofthe new message, would not be used until after the original message hasbeen downloaded.

Notably, the original message may not always be downloaded immediately.The mobile communication device 100 makes use of a data networkconnection to download the original message. Accordingly, in the absenceof a data network connection, the mobile communication device 100 waitsuntil a data network connection has been established, before downloadingthe original message.

The first cross-component message signing approach may be adapted formessage encryption instead of, or in addition to, message signing. Stepsof a method that is an example of adapting the first cross-componentmessage signing approach to encryption are presented in FIG. 5.Initially, the processor 228, or, more accurately, an encryptionhandling application executed on the processor 228, detects receipt(step 502) of an instruction to transmit an encrypted response message.Such an instruction may be received from the message composition userinterface application also executed on the processor 228.

From the user's perspective, the user has specified that the responsemessage is to be encrypted and the user has composed the new portion ofthe response message (in any order). The user may have configured themobile communication device 100, at some earlier time, to, by default,encrypt each outgoing messages. The receipt (detected in step 502), bythe encryption handling application, of the instruction to transmit anencrypted version of the response message may be triggered by the useropening a menu and selecting a “send” menu item.

Responsive to the detection in step 502, the encryption handlingapplication may present (step 504) a dialog to warn the user that thefirst e-mail message will be incompletely included in the responsemessage and giving the user choice regarding how or whether to proceed.An example of a suitable dialog is illustrated as a dialog 400 in FIG.4. The dialog 400 is illustrated as being displayed on the display 226of the mobile communication device 100.

As has been discussed above, the dialog 400 may include choices labeled“OK” and “Cancel”. Furthermore, the dialog 400 may include anotherchoice, labeled “Download Original”.

It is expected that the user of the mobile communication device 100 willinteract with the dialog 400 to select one of the choices. Accordingly,the encryption handling application may receive (step 506) an indicationof the user selection and determine (step 508) which of the choices theuser has selected. Upon determining (step 508) that the user hasselected the “Cancel” choice, the encryption handling application mayreturn (step 510) control to the message composition user interface.

Upon determining (step 508) that the user has selected the “OK” choice,the encryption handling application may encrypt (step 512) the responsemessage. The encryption handling application may then arrange thetransmission (step 514) of the encrypted response message.

Upon determining (step 508) that the user has selected the “DownloadOriginal” choice, the encryption handling application may obtain (step516) the remainder of the first e-mail message from the wireless mailserver 118 and form (step 518) a “new” message. The new message may beformed from the new portion, recently composed by the user of the mobilecommunication device 100, and the entirety of the first e-mail message,obtained in step 516. The encryption handling application may thenencrypt (step 520) the new message. The encryption handling applicationmay then arrange the transmission (step 522) of the encrypted newmessage.

A second cross-component message signing approach involves splitting thesigning operation between the mobile communication device 100 and thewireless mail server 118, thereby avoiding the downloading of theoriginal message. Unlike the first approach, this split-signing approachcannot be considered to result in true end-to-end security, because theentire e-mail message is not signed strictly at the mobile communicationdevice 100. Rather, at least the new portion, recently composed by theuser of the mobile communication device 100, is signed strictly at thedevice, and the signing of the entire message, including the remaindernot signed strictly at the device, involves the wireless mail server118. However, this second approach does provide a compromise betweensecurity and use of wireless channel resources, which makes itparticularly suitable for signing large messages or messages with largeattachments.

Steps of a method that is an example of the second approach arepresented in FIG. 6. Initially, the signature handling applicationdetects receipt (step 602) of an instruction to transmit a responsemessage and an associated signature. Such an instruction may be receivedfrom the message composition user interface application also executed onthe processor 228.

Responsive to the detection in step 602, the signature handlingapplication may automatically add (step 603) a disclaimer to the end ofthe response message, indicating that this point in the message marksthe end of the part of the message signed at the mobile communicationdevice 100 and/or the beginning of the part signed with the assistanceof the wireless mail server 118. For example, the disclaimer may be aline of text, such as “—end of device-signed data—”. The signaturehandling application may further obtain (step 604) a hash of theresponse message, where the response message includes the new portion,recently composed by the user of the mobile communication device 100,and the initial portion of the first e-mail message (i.e., not theentire first e-mail message).

The signature handling application may then arrange the transmission(step 606), to the wireless mail server 118, of a request that thewireless mail server 118 continue the hashing across the first e-mailmessage. Along with the request, the signature handling application mayarrange the transmission of the “context” of the hash of the responsemessage to the wireless mail server 118. The context may be anindication of the internal state of the hashing algorithm. Such aninternal state indication may allow the wireless mail server 118 tocontinue to obtain the hash.

Steps in an example method of participating, at the wireless mail server118, in the split signing operation are illustrated in FIG. 7.Initially, the wireless mail server 118 receives (step 702) the hashcontinuation request. The wireless mail server 118 has awareness of theportion of the first e-mail message that was transmitted to the mobilecommunication device 100 and can therefore generate (step 704) a “final”hash by hashing the portion of the first e-mail message that has notbeen transmitted to the mobile communication device 100, where the finalhash is a hash of a “new” message. The new message includes the newportion, recently composed by the user of the mobile communicationdevice 100, and the entirety of the first e-mail message.

Alternatively, if the hashing algorithm is a “streaming” algorithm, themobile communication device 100 may transmit, to the wireless mailserver 118, the current value of the hash.

Upon completing generation (step 704) of the hash across the firste-mail message, the wireless mail server 118 transmits (step 706) thefinal hash to the mobile communication device 100. It should be clearthat the final hash is likely to be significantly smaller than theremainder of the original message.

Upon receiving (step 608) the final hash from the wireless mail server118, the mobile communication device 100 signs (step 610) the final hashand arranges (step 612) the transmission of the response message and theencrypted hash to the wireless mail server 118. The encrypted hash maybe called the new signature.

Upon receiving (step 708) the response message and the new signature,the wireless mail server 118 constructs the new message by appending(step 710) the portion of the first e-mail message that has not beentransmitted to the mobile communication device 100 to the responsemessage and transmits (step 712) the new message and the new signature.

Since the second cross-component message signing approach represented bythe methods of FIGS. 6 and 7 may not be considered to result in true,end-to-end security, the user may be provided with an opportunity toselect the second cross-component message signing approach on aper-message basis, depending on the size of the data and/or securityrequirements.

In a third cross-component message signing approach, the entire hash isgenerated on the wireless mail server 118. The user composes the newportion and indicates that the response message and an associatedsignature are to be sent.

Steps of a method that is an example of the third cross-componentmessage signing approach are presented in FIG. 8. Initially, thesignature handling application at the mobile communication device 100detects receipt (step 802) of an instruction to transmit the responsemessage and the associated signature.

Responsive to the detection in step 802, the signature handlingapplication may arrange (step 804) transmission of the new portion tothe wireless mail server 118.

Steps in an example method of participating, at the wireless mail server118, in the third cross-component message signing approach areillustrated in FIG. 9. Initially, the wireless mail server 118 receives(step 902) the new portion and appends the first e-mail message to thenew portion, thereby forming (step 904) the new message. The wirelessmail server 118 then generates (step 906) a hash of the new message. Thewireless mail server 118 transmits (step 908) the hash to the mobilecommunication device 100.

At the mobile communication device 100, the signature handlingapplication receives (step 806) the hash and signs (step 808) the hashto generate the new signature. The signature handling application thenarranges (step 810) the transmission of the new signature to thewireless mail server 118.

Upon receipt (step 910) of the new signature, the wireless mail server118 transmits (step 912) the new message and the new signature.

The second approach to cross-component message signing exemplified inthe combination of FIGS. 6 and 7 and the third approach tocross-component message signing exemplified in the combination of FIGS.8 and 9 are suitable for message signing, but differences in the mannerin which a message is signed and the manner in which a message isencrypted lead to a lack of direct applicability of these approaches tothe encryption of a message.

In overview, the disclosed approaches for message signing may, with someadaptation, be extended for use in message encryption. In part, theadaptation involves the mobile communication device 100 transmittingadditional, special cryptographic information to the wireless mailserver 118, thereby allowing the wireless mail server 118 to encrypt agiven message.

FIG. 10 illustrates example steps of a cross-component messageencryption approach. Initially, a message processing applicationexecuted on the processor 228 detects receipt (step 1002) of aninstruction to transmit an encrypted message. Such an instruction may bereceived from the message composition user interface application alsoexecuted on the processor 228.

As discussed hereinbefore, where the message to be encrypted is amessage that is formed from a new portion and an initial portion of anoriginal message, the user of the mobile communication device 100 mayprefer that the entirety of the original message be included as contextfor the new portion. However, as also discussed hereinbefore, only theinitial portion of the original message may be present at the mobilecommunication device 100. Furthermore, it is noted that the originalmessage may have been encrypted.

Responsive to detecting receipt (step 1002) of the instruction, theprocessor 228, under control of the message processing application, maythen obtain (step 1004) the cryptographic information that the processor228 would typically use to encrypt a message. Such cryptographicinformation may include, for example, one or more session keys,including a composite message session key for encrypting the compositemessage, along with one or more initialization vectors corresponding toeach of the one or more session keys. An initialization vector is ablock of bits that allows a stream cipher or a block cipher to beexecuted in any of several modes of operation to produce a unique streamindependent from other streams produced by the same session key. Wherethe original message was encrypted, the cryptographic information mayalso include one or more session keys, such as an original messagesession key for decrypting the original message.

The processor 228, under control of the message processing application,may then arrange the transmission (step 1006), to the wireless mailserver 118, of the message whose transmission was requested in step1002. The message processing application may include, in thetransmission, a request for the formation and encryption of a compositemessage along with the cryptographic information obtained in step 1004.

FIG. 11 illustrates example steps in a method of participating, at thewireless mail server 118, in the cross-component message encryptionapproach of FIG. 10. Initially, the wireless mail server 118 receives(step 1102) the new message, encryption request and associatedcryptographic information.

In the case wherein the original message was encrypted, the wirelessmail server 118 may then decrypt (step 1104) the original message usingan appropriate portion of the received cryptographic information.

The wireless mail server 118 may then create (step 1106) a compositemessage by appending the original message to the new message. Both thenew message and the original message may include a body portion and oneor more attachments. Accordingly, while creating (step 1106) thecomposite message, the wireless mail server 118 may append a bodyportion of the original message to a body portion of the new message andadd attachments from the new message to the composite message and addattachments from the original message to the composite message.

Upon completing creation (step 1106) of the composite message, thewireless mail server 118 encrypts (step 1108) the composite messageusing an appropriate portion of the cryptographic information receivedin step 1102. In conjunction with encrypting (step 1108) the compositemessage, the wireless mail server 118 may wrap the composite message inan appropriate encoding. Such appropriate encoding may, for example,comprise encoding using a standard known as Secure/Multipurpose InternetMail Extensions (S/MIME), which is a known standard for public keyencryption and signing of data. Alternatively, such appropriate encodingmay, for example, comprise encoding using a standard known as PrettyGood Privacy (PGP), which is a known data encryption and decryptioncomputer standard that provides cryptographic privacy and authenticationfor data communication.

In an alternate implementation, rather than receiving the compositemessage session key from the mobile communication device 100, thewireless mail server 118 generates the composite message session key andthe corresponding initialization vector. This implementation may alsoinvolve sending the composite message session key to the mobilecommunication device 100, so that the mobile communication device 100may decrypt the sent composite message, if necessary.

When the composite message has been encrypted and wrapped, the wirelessmail server 118 may transmit (step 1110) the encrypted composite messagetoward recipients specified in a destination field of the new message.

FIG. 12 illustrates example steps of a cross-component messageencryption approach distinct from the cross-component message encryptionapproach of FIGS. 10 and 11. Initially, a message processing applicationexecuted on the processor 228 detects receipt (step 1202) of aninstruction to transmit an encrypted and signed message. Such aninstruction may be received from the message composition user interfaceapplication also executed on the processor 228.

As discussed hereinbefore, where the message to be encrypted and signedis a message that is formed from a new portion and an initial portion ofan original message, the user of the mobile communication device 100 mayprefer that the entirety of the original message be included as contextfor the new portion. However, as also discussed hereinbefore, often onlythe initial portion of the original message may be present at the mobilecommunication device 100. Furthermore, it is noted that the originalmessage may have been encrypted.

Responsive to detecting (step 1202) receipt of the instruction, theprocessor 228, under control of the message processing application, maythen obtain (step 1204) the cryptographic information that the processor228 would typically use to encrypt a message. Such cryptographicinformation may include, for example, one or more session keys,including a composite message session key for encrypting the compositemessage, along with one or more initialization vectors corresponding toeach of the one or more session keys. Where the original message wasencrypted, the cryptographic information may also include one or moresession keys, including an original message session key for decryptingthe original message.

The processor 228, under control of the message processing application,may then arrange the transmission (step 1206), to the wireless mailserver 118, of the message whose transmission was requested in step1002. The message processing application may include, in thetransmission, the cryptographic information obtained in step 1004 and arequest for a hash of the composite message to be created, at thewireless mail server 118, from the new message and the original message.

FIG. 13 illustrates example steps in a method of participating, at thewireless mail server 118, in the cross-component message encryptionapproach of FIG. 12. Initially, the wireless mail server 118 receives(step 1302) the new message, associated cryptographic information andhash request.

In the case wherein the original message was encrypted, the wirelessmail server 118 may then decrypt (step 1304) the original message usingan appropriate portion of the received cryptographic information.

The wireless mail server 118 may then create (step 1306) a compositemessage by appending the original message to the new message. Both thenew message and the original message may include a body portion and oneor more attachments. Accordingly, while creating (step 1306) thecomposite message, the wireless mail server 118 may append a bodyportion of the original message to a body portion of the new message andadd attachments from the new message to the composite message and addattachments from the original message to the composite message.

Upon completing creation (step 1306) of the composite message, thewireless mail server 118 generates (step 1308) a hash of the compositemessage and transmits (step 1310) the hash to the mobile communicationdevice 100 with a hash signing request, specifying that the hash is tobe signed.

Upon receiving (step 1208) the hash signing request from the wirelessmail server 118, the mobile communication device 100 obtains (step 1210)a private key specific to a user of the mobile communication device 100.Obtaining (step 1210) the private key may, for example, involveprompting the user for a password to allow the processor 228 access to akey store, in memory of the mobile communication device 100, from whichthe processor 228 may obtain the private key.

Upon obtaining (step 1210) the private key, the processor 228 may sign(step 1212) the hash to form a signature for the composite message. Theprocessor 228 may then arrange (step 1214) the transmission of thesignature to the wireless mail server 118.

The wireless mail server 118 receives (step 1312) the signature and adds(step 1314) the signature to the composite message.

Upon adding (step 1314) the signature to the composite message, thewireless mail server 118 may encrypt (step 1316) the signed compositemessage using an appropriate portion of the cryptographic informationreceived in step 1302. In conjunction with encrypting (step 1316) thesigned composite message, the wireless mail server 118 may wrap thecomposite message in an appropriate encoding as discussed hereinbefore.

When the signed composite message has been encrypted and wrapped, thewireless mail server 118 may transmit (step 1318) the encrypted andsigned composite message toward recipients specified in a destinationfield of the new message.

The above-described embodiments of the present application are intendedto be examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations may beeffected to the particular embodiments by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope of the application, which is defined bythe claims appended hereto.

1. At a mobile wireless communication device, a method of processing anelectronic message, said method comprising: detecting receipt of aninstruction to encrypt and transmit a composite message, where saidcomposite message includes a new message and an original message;obtaining cryptographic information for use in carrying out anencryption request; transmitting said new message to a server associatedwith said mobile wireless communication device; and transmitting saidencryption request to said server, said encryption request includingsaid cryptographic information and specifying said original message. 2.The method of claim 1 wherein said cryptographic information for use incarrying out said encryption request comprises a composite messagesession key.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein said cryptographicinformation further comprises an initialization vector corresponding tosaid session key.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said cryptographicinformation for use in carrying out said encryption request comprises anoriginal message session key.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein saidinstruction further includes an instruction to add a cryptographicsignature to said message.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein saidencryption request further includes a request for a hash of saidcomposite message.
 7. The method of claim 6 further comprising receivingsaid hash from said server.
 8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:obtaining a private cryptographic key; employing said privatecryptographic key to sign said hash, thereby forming a signed hash; andtransmitting said signed hash to said server.
 9. A mobile wirelesscommunication device comprising a processor adapted to: detect receiptof an instruction to encrypt and transmit a composite message, wheresaid composite message includes a new message and an original message;obtain cryptographic information for use in carrying out an encryptionrequest; transmit said new message to a server associated with saidmobile wireless communication device; and transmit said encryptionrequest to said server, said encryption request including saidcryptographic information and specifying said original message.
 10. Acomputer-readable medium containing computer-executable instructionsthat, when performed by a processor, cause said processor to: detectreceipt of an instruction to encrypt and transmit a composite message,where said composite message includes a new message and an originalmessage; obtain cryptographic information for use in carrying out anencryption request; transmit said new message to a server associatedwith said mobile wireless communication device; and transmit saidencryption request to said server, said encryption request includingsaid cryptographic information and specifying said original message. 11.A method of processing an electronic message, said method comprising:detecting receipt of a message processing request for encryption andtransmission of a composite message, where said composite messageincludes a new message and an original message, said message processingrequest including said new message, an indication of said originalmessage and cryptographic information for use in said encryption;creating said composite message from said new message and said originalmessage; employing a first portion of said cryptographic information toencrypt said composite message to form an encrypted composite message;and transmitting said encrypted composite message.
 12. The method ofclaim 11 further comprising employing a second portion of saidcryptographic information to decrypt said original message prior to saidcreating of said composite message.
 13. The method of claim 11 whereinsaid message processing request further specifies signing of saidcomposite message.
 14. The method of claim 13 further comprising,responsive to said creating said composite message, generating a hash ofsaid composite message and transmitting said hash to an origin of saidmessage processing request in conjunction with a hash signing request tosign said hash.
 15. The method of claim 14 further comprising: receivinga signature, where said signature comprises said hash signed at saidorigin of said message processing request; and adding said signature tosaid composite message, thereby forming a signed composite message. 16.The method of claim 15 wherein said employing said first portion of saidcryptographic information to encrypt said composite message to form anencrypted composite message comprises employing said first portion ofsaid cryptographic information to encrypt said signed composite messageto form an encrypted signed composite message.
 17. The method of claim16 transmitting said encrypted composite message comprises transmittingsaid encrypted signed composite message.
 18. The method of claim 11wherein said creating said composite message comprises including anattachment received in association with said new message.
 19. The methodof claim 11 wherein said creating said composite message comprisesincluding an attachment received in association with said originalmessage.
 20. A mail server comprising a processor adapted to: detectreceipt of a message processing request for encryption and transmissionof a composite message, where said composite message includes a newmessage and an original message, said message processing requestincluding said new message, an indication of said original message andcryptographic information for use in said encryption; create compositemessage from said new message and said original message; employ a firstportion of said cryptographic information to encrypt said compositemessage to form an encrypted composite message; and transmit saidencrypted composite message.
 21. A computer-readable medium containingcomputer-executable instructions that, when performed by a processor,cause said processor to: detect receipt of a message processing requestfor encryption and transmission of a composite message, where saidcomposite message includes a new message and an original message, saidmessage processing request including said new message, an indication ofsaid original message and cryptographic information for use in saidencryption; create composite message from said new message and saidoriginal message; employ a first portion of said cryptographicinformation to encrypt said composite message to form an encryptedcomposite message; and transmit said encrypted composite message.